Whoops! At Work

Running out of work was a problem seven, eight, nine days ago.  Definitely not now.  What I did not anticipate at all was the other temps running out of work.

I was diligently drilling through a packet when the two, who work in a huge room on another of the three sides that make up our office, walked up to me and said, "We ran out of things to do."

I let out a soft, "Oh, shit."  I was worried that they had nothing to do, so I just went over there and gave them the prepping tasks for the packets that I usually did.  Walking back and getting back to my work, I thought about other stuff I could have them do.  It wouldn't be much.  They would get through the, oh, last two hours of the day today, but tomorrow?

Meanwhile, back in their room there were at least, oh, 40 packets that were ready for me to do.  And I still have about a dozen at my cube.  And to think I was afraid I would run out of work a week ago.  Don't know why I was scared; there were a bunch of packets that weren't ready to be pushed down the assembly line to me yet, but they were coming.  Of course, it's not like I've ever done this job before.

So the temps, who essentially are stationed above me on this assembly line, are searching for ways to extend their temporary employment.  A little bit after I told them to review the packets, I gave one of them a sheet of names with duplicate accounts that I wanted him to list and eventually give to my employer.  Meanwhile, I not only have work to do, I have a lot of work to do -- so much that it might take me, no joke, another week to complete.

That, I think, does not look good in the face of the other two temps not having work.  They are done but I'm not?  My supervisor is gone for the week, but his boss is still around.  Well, he wasn't around today until the tail end of the day.  That sucks for me because another person at work, one my immediate supervisor probably asked to check in on the other temps, told my boss' boss that they had nothing to do.

I know I can see it now tomorrow morning: He'll get us all together and ask me, "What else do you have to do?"  And I'll point to the packets I have in my cubicle, and then tell them there are more than in the temporary billing room.  He will look at the huge disparity in work between me and the other two temps and go, "Why do you have so much work when they have none?"  And I still haven't come up with an excuse that I like beyond either, "Had to count the direct bills," "Had to make sure there was the correct number of claims," "Got bogged down in putting more information in the system," and an explanation that might look like I'm throwing the other two temps under the bus, "I was doing fine and then I got hammered with more work the past few days."  And then he -- a guy I have never had a conversation with, just hi's while passing each other in the hallway -- would look at me like I'm either stupid or lazy, and I will lose my job as of tomorrow, and then he'd tell the agency I suck and I'll never work again.

So even though my immediate boss never shook my hand goodbye, an indication that he knew this week would be my last week, I'm still going under the impression that I'm done working there as of tomorrow.  I will be let go either because it was pre-planned or because my supervisor's supervisor thinks how I'm working is bullshit and he might as well let me go for poor work performance.  And what has become a great place to work and the most ideal way to get back into the groove of "working for a living" will end with an acrimonious thud.

The one big thing that might save my hide is for those two guys to find work.  Maybe, just maybe, that will allow us, or at least me, to work into next week, or at least allow me to finish this assignment leaving a positive view by those I have been working for.